Boehner: Hold up, the ObamaCare fight isn’t over yet

posted at 7:46 pm on November 21, 2012 by Erika Johnsen

Speaker of the House John Boehner got quite a bit of flack a couple weeks ago when he said that “ObamaCare is the law of the land” in response to a question about whether he’d continue to try and get the massive bureaucratic nightmare repealed — I think it smacked of “time to give up and move on” a little too much for some conservatives’ tastes. Ergo, in an op-ed last night, Boehner tried to refine that message a bit, instead noting that certain avenues are now less viable for Republicans’ goals, but that they can still mix up their strategy to get things accomplished:

The tactics of our repeal efforts will have to change. But the strategic imperative remains the same. If we’re serious about getting our economy moving again, solving our debt and restoring prosperity for American families, we need to repeal Obamacare and enact common-sense, step-by-step reforms that start with lowering the cost of health care.

The president’s health care law adds a massive, expensive, unworkable government program at a time when our national debt already exceeds the size of our country’s entire economy. We can’t afford it, and we can’t afford to leave it intact. That’s why I’ve been clear that the law has to stay on the table as both parties discuss ways to solve our nation’s massive debt challenge.

Congress has a constitutional responsibility to conduct thorough oversight of the executive branch, and congressional oversight will play a critical role in repealing Obamacare going forward.

Over the past couple of years, I have noted there are essentially three major routes to repeal of the president’s law: the courts, the presidential election process and the congressional oversight process. With two of those three routes having come up short, the third and final one becomes more important than ever.

As ObamaCare is slowly but steadily implemented (there are plenty of rules that haven’t even been written yet, remember), the Speaker is right that there are going to be a million and one things for which Congress will need to watch out. Waste, fraud, abuse, corruption, administrative incompetence, and unintended consequences galore — they’re part and parcel of any too-big-for-its-britches bureaucratic endeavor like this. No, ObamaCare will not be repealed while Obama is still in office, but shining a light onto the seedier aspects and calamitous effects of the law is going to be a big part of the national discussion in the coming years.

Boehner also went on to praise Ohio gov. Kasich’s decision to pass on implementing a government-run insurance exchange, highlighting the role that governors can have in resisting health care’s federal takeover — as James Capretta and Yuval Levin put it in the WSJ the other day:

Talk of the law’s inevitability is intended to pressure these governors into implementing it on the administration’s behalf. But states still have two key choices to make that together will put them in the driver’s seat: whether to create state health-insurance exchanges, and whether to expand Medicaid. They should say “no” to both. …

Running the exchanges would be an administrative nightmare for states, requiring a complicated set of rules, mandates, databases and interfaces to establish eligibility, funnel subsidies, and facilitate purchases. All of this would have to take place under broad and often incoherent statutory requirements and federal regulations that have yet to be written. …

States would endure all this simply to become functionaries of the federal government. The idea that creating state exchanges would give states control over their insurance markets is a fantasy. The states would be enforcing a federal law and federal regulations, with very little room for independent judgment. …

By declining to build exchanges, the states would pass the burden and costs of the exchanges to the administration that sought this law. And it is far from clear that the administration could operate the exchanges on its own.

Blowback

Trackbacks/Pings

Comments

Boehner’s wishy washiness makes me crazy. Here’s hoping that the Gov’s just say no and let this mess fail and fall on the head of O and the Dems. When people are being fined and there is no exchange functioning……..there will be repercussions.

By declining to build exchanges, the states would pass the burden and costs of the exchanges to the administration that sought this law. And it is far from clear that the administration could operate the exchanges on its own.

It’s also far from clear that John Beohner has enough balls to have a deep voice.

Does anyone actually believe that the spineless go along to get along GOP under the tearful leadership of John Beohner will actually do anything other than make some vaguely conservative sounding noise before they cave?

Thanks for checking in, Congressman Squishy-man. I’ve utter confidence that you and Senator Squish McConnell will stand up and **harrumph** at the super-unacceptableness of ObamaCare.
And then, you’ll cave. Again. As usual.

Boehner and McConnell: Country Club Republicans, with neither the focus nor relentless drive of their liberal opponents. THESE are the wartime consiglieres that we have to fight with?

You and the rest of the lily-livered RNC believe nothing and stand for nothing. You failed to campaign against Obamacare in the campaign, why the heck should we believe it means anything to you? You bend with the wind, you talk about only repealing parts of Obamacare. Why should we believe that this is anything but an election/shore up the base ploy for you?

The adults in the country want a substantive discussion. Sorry if you’re still about people being children til 26 and threatening to be sensitive to the vagina wars.

Yea, and Boehner is really, really going to do SOMETHING to stop Obamacare THIS time! He has not done anything as of yet! Never stopped funding, not even threatened to stop funding. His actions speak louder than his words. Does he really think we are idiots?

Ok, but how about mentioning that the law as it stands is currently illegal and unconstitutional, and that it needs to go back to the House for review(and revision) since it was not passed as a tax, but WAS CHANGED to a tax, and all tax bills MUST begin in the House Of Representatives.

Thanks for checking in, Congressman Squishy-man. I’ve utter confidence that you and Senator Squish McConnell will stand up and **harrumph** at the super-unacceptableness of ObamaCare.
And then, you’ll cave. Again. As usual.

Boehner and McConnell: Country Club Republicans, with neither the focus nor relentless drive of their liberal opponents. THESE are the wartime consiglieres that we have to fight with?

Ok, but how about mentioning that the law as it stands is currently illegal and unconstitutional, and that it needs to go back to the House for review(and revision) since it was not passed as a tax, but WAS CHANGED to a tax, and all tax bills MUST begin in the House Of Representatives.

Don’t forget that.

Sterling Holobyte on November 21, 2012 at 9:10 PM

yawn. they attached the senate obamacare bill to an unrelated but passed house bill. the procedural stuff will get us nowhere… the courts will get us nowhere… and the house has had plenty of opportunity to defund obamacare, shutdown the government, not raise the debt ceiling, force serious concessions….

yeah. I think obamacare is here to stay, better get used to it and just hope it doesnt effect you as badly as you fear it might.

The slow boil… Boehner is just making you feel a bit more comfortable for a little while, letting you imagine the water is not getting hotter. Anyone who thinks him and the Republicans in office today have your backs is delusional or a progressive. I am sure there are some that are just fine and dandy, but since these guys actually voted for Boehner to be the Speaker pretty much argues at least half are not.

By declining to build exchanges, the states would pass the burden and costs of the exchanges to the administration that sought this law. And it is far from clear that the administration could operate the exchanges on its own.

As long as Republicans hold the purse strings, the ‘government’ can’t afford it.

Does anyone really believe this law is about health care? This law is all about making health care impossible to manage for insurance companies whose profits will be squeezed, as the government tells them they have to cover more people and cover more things and take in less money. It’s all about putting the insurance companies out of business and getting universal health care in. The Democrats, since they are so duplicitous and didn’t want to tell people that was the goal, had to take this circuitous route to get it done, but get it done they will.

It’s going to be a disaster but the media will cover up the disaster as long as they can. Most certainly, Obama will be out of office before it happens and, perhaps, a Republican will be in there and the press will be blaming that president for the disaster.

The best chance at repeal has come and gone. The electorate, who keep telling pollsters they don’t like Obamacare, just re-elected him and kept the Senate in Democrat hands. Either they’re really stupid, lying to pollsters, or just didn’t understand the consequences.

ObamaCare is the most massive undertaking in the history of the world. Bigger than Social Security. Bigger than Medicare. Bigger than the IRS. Bigger than the Normandy Invasion.

An undertaking by the same government that can’t deliver bottled water to New Jersey.

I’m predicting epic fail. At our expense.

Curtiss on November 21, 2012 at 7:55 PM

Obamacare essentially adds 38 million, which is more than the entire population of Canada, to the existing American health system. It doesn’t add any doctors, nurses or facilities. Does anyone think your healthcare is isn’t going to suffer? Make the Dems OWN IT!

If anyone thinks a little thing like the House of Representatives refusing to pass a bill funding Obamacare will deter this administration you haven’t been paying attention. The WH has plenty of money to spend – all the money that Ben can print – and little details like congressional authority or disapproval are mere speed bumps (and small ones at that).

*Then the Supreme Court led by conservative Chief Justice Roberts upheld essentially all of ACA including the individual mandate.

*Finally, President Obama easily won reelection 332-206 and the Democrats EXPANDED their majority in the Senate despite all the pre-election talk about ObamaCare being a huge “millstone” around the neck of Democrats everywhere.

Before the election, the Right was saying this was the last chance to overturn ObamaCare. And you guys lost. Big time.

He’s just teasing the right. There is no way he will stand up on this issue — or any other issue for that matter. Him or any of them; they’ve all got their tickets on the gravy train and the peasants can go screw ourselves.

We still don’t get it, hoping that a political or economic messiah will somehow cause good to happen when we’ve tossed out the source of all goodness–God–the only one who gives us our rights.

Our problem is now going to morph into who can give the most illicit candy to the screaming crowds. We fail to understand and stand firm on the difference between need and want. Want is anti-communal in its nature, and finds many forms, many destructive to sound societies: including lust, envy, anti-any tax idolatry, racism and false charges of racism, free lunches, legalizing evil things like gay marriages and abortion and forcing Churches to comply.

Need, must be addressed by society, but can also be the result of selfish, irresponsible living, and without God-centered morality as the basis for law and behavior, we can only end up where we’ve broguht ourselves.

So the GOP and democracy(by any name) have both found themselves in the dustbin of history, mere economic lessons beaten by a Godless culture as we now ponder the shear folly of doubling down on free poisoned candy.

Calling it Obamacare was a big mistake. It sounds like Obama cares and we reinforced that every time we said it. No wonder he said he liked the plan being called that. My son and his girl friend have both been to meetings at their place of employment advising them that if they don’t have insurance, that info will be reported to the feds. The word is getting out about the ‘requirements’ and how much it is going to cost.

I’m still looking at it, but it appears that the key to destroying Obamacare is for the states to decline to set up an exchange in their state. I might be wrong, but I think that declining to set one up is a big win for each state that declines.

I’m also looking a little at this FISCAL CLIFF stuff. Anytime the Dems try to make something look like a crisis or emergency, the fix for it usually involves more spending, more taxes and more loss of freedom. For example, it looks like those Bush tax cuts weren’t only for the EVIL RICH after all. Hahaha!

I don’t think that Boehner is stupid. I think that he realizes that the Repubs have a strong hand with this fiscal cliff crap. We’ll see how it plays out.

Maybe someone a lot smarter than me, such as one of the article writers on here, could look behind the smoke screen of this fiscal cliff crisis. Maybe someone’s already done that.
Anyways, all I’m saying is that Obama and his fellow leftist goons “never let a crisis go to waste”, so I’m suspicious.

House Republicans should pass a bill deeming that the bill deeming the ACA was passed was wrong. That should put things back in the courts for a couple of years – and who knows, it might actually be a valid ploy.

Attacking our party’s moderates is what gave us a 55 seat Democratic Senate majority that could easily have been about 50 50 with available viable candidates. Denouncing Romney, Boehner, McCain, Linsey Graham, George W. and Jeb Bush etc. for trying to make the system work within the constraints of a hostile press, a hostile academia, a public misinformed by a partisan disfunctional education system and proper respect for the law as it is rather than as we would like it to be is short sighted. If we all hoist the Jolly Roger and call for rebellion we will be crushed as the middle will align against us.

We have to do the education of those around us so that a new Reagan can succeed rather than shoot the pragmatists trying to slow the progressive left leviathon while holding a rather weak hand.

We have to do the education of those around us so that a new Reagan can succeed rather than shoot the pragmatists

You don’t get it. They’re not “pragmatists.” They’re fuc*ing cowards and colluders. And the Reagan era, when there was an actual fabric of political coexistence within which pragmatism had some meaning, is gone forever. We’re at war. It’s a war as clear and coldly brutal as any we’ve faced in our history. Figure it out.

If we’re serious about getting our economy moving again, solving our debt and restoring prosperity for American families, we need to repeal Obamacare and enact common-sense, step-by-step reforms that start with lowering the cost of health care.

This scumbag, Lies like a Rug! Boehner is a sell out. He’s trying to do his best to give Benedict Obama, whatever he wants. These scumbags are hiding the Benghazi hearings. They are working with the Butcher of Benghazi, trying to distract from the Arming of Al-Qaeda(TREASON) and the Murder of the Benghazi 4, with the orders to “Stand Down”! They will sweep that under the rug, just like they did with Fast & Furious! Instead of saying no, this animal will fund the ObamaTaxCare betrayal, first chance he gets! Fact is, these betraying bastards, knew what was going on with the muslim brotherhood and are helping the Traitor-in-chief, to betray the U.S.